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Alternative Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Alternative Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$390k
Granted FY2025still arriving
5
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$135k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

Housing & Shelter$685kCommunity Improvement$404kEducation$155kYouth Development$140kArts & Culture$45kFood & Nutrition$20kCivil Rights$10k
02FY2025 · 5 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • $10k–50k1 grant · $25k
  • $50k–250k4 grants · $365k
$80,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$4.9M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
DEVELOPING KINGDOMS IN DIFFERENT STAGES$134,742
BAILEY PARK PROJECT$80,000
NW GOLDBERG CARES$80,000
DETROIT FOOD & ENTREPRENEURSHIP ACADEMY$70,000
MIDNIGHT GOLF PROGRAM$25,000
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY20–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 21%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 98% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%FENN SCHOOL INC: $30k → 8%MIDNIGHT GOLF PROGRAM: $10k → 8%CINNAIRE LENDING CORPORATION: $100k → 16%WARREN-CONNER DEVELOPMENT COALITION INC: $103k → 21%WARREN-CONNER DEVELOPMENT COALITION INC: $98k → 21%WARREN-CONNER DEVELOPMENT COALITION INC: $54k → 21%WARREN-CONNER DEVELOPMENT COALITION INC: $39k → 21%NW GOLDBERG CARES: $80k → 21%NW GOLDBERG CARES: $45k → 21%DETROIT FOOD & ENTREPRENEURSHIP ACADEMY: $70k → 21%DETROIT FOOD & ENTREPRENEURSHIP ACADEMY: $60k → 21%DETROIT FOOD & ENTREPRENEURSHIP ACADEMY: $25k → 21%DETROIT FOOD & ENTREPRENEURSHIP ACADEMY: $20k → 21%DETROIT FOOD & ENTREPRENEURSHIP ACADEMY: $20k → 21%MIDNIGHT GOLF PROGRAM: $25k → 21%DOING DEVELOPMENT DIFFERENTLY IN METRO DETROIT: $10k → 21%STREET DEMOCRACY: $10k → 21%LIFE REMODELED-A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $100k → 21%BAILEY PARK PROJECT: $175k → 21%BAILEY PARK PROJECT: $125k → 21%BAILEY PARK PROJECT: $125k → 21%BAILEY PARK PROJECT: $80k → 21%BAILEY PARK PROJECT: $50k → 21%BAILEY PARK PROJECT: $40k → 21%BAILEY PARK PROJECT: $40k → 21%BAILEY PARK PROJECT: $30k → 21%KEEP GROWING DETROIT: $20k → 21%DEVELOPING KINGDOMS IN DIFFERENT STAGES: $135k → 21%DEVELOPING KINGDOMS IN DIFFERENT STAGES: $80k → 21%DEVELOPING KINGDOMS IN DIFFERENT STAGES: $50k → 21%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

85%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.6M · 6 repeat orgs$270k to everyone else

6 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2025, 1 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

6
6

Total granted

$1.6M
$270k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+65%
+95%

Still filing today

100%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’20’21’22’23’24’25
Community ImprovementHousing & ShelterYouth DevelopmentRecreation & SportsEducationCivil RightsOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • BP
    Bailey Park Project
    5× · 2021–2025 · $665k · revenue +25% · 38% of their budget
  • WD
    WARRENCONNER DEVELOPMENT COALITION
    2× · 2020–2021 · $294k · revenue +292%
  • DETROIT FOOD & ENTREPRENEURSHIP ACADEMY
    5× · 2020–2025 · $195k · revenue +65%

Funded once

  • LIFE REMODELED
    one grant, 2024 · $100k · revenue +6%
  • CL
    CINNAIRE LENDING CORPORATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $100k · revenue +95%
  • TF
    THE FENN SCHOOL
    one grant, 2020 · $30k · revenue -10%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Detroit Food Policy Council

The organization was founded by a group of concerned citizens, working in cooperation with the detroit city council, to shape food policy and to work for a more localized, more just, and environmentally friendly food system. the…

Food & Nutrition
2
Develop Detroit Inc

Develop detroit, inc. is a nonprofit community development firm focused on providing affordable and mixed income housing, as well as strategic economic and commercial development that will help stabilize and transform disinvested…

Community Improvement
3
Diploma Equity Project

The organization works with k-12, higher education and other community partners to design and implement programs to improve rates of college persistence and completion.

Education
4
Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice

The organization is known as the leader in the movement and is seen as the "go to" experts on environmental justice and sustainable redevelopment because of its knowledge and its network.

Health
5
The Greening of Detroit

The greening of detroit's mission is the sustainable growth of a healthy urban community through trees, green spaces, healthy living, education, training and job opportunities.

Environment
6
Detroit Black Community Food Sovereignty Network

DBCFSN works to build self-reliance and food security in Detroits black community by influencing public policy promoting urban agriculture, promoting healthy eating and encouraging youth to pursue careers in food related fields.

Food & Nutrition
7
Dream of Detroit

Dream of Detroit is combining community organizing with strategic housing and land development to build a healthy community and empower a marginalized neighborhood on the Westside of Detroit.

Human Services
8
Cityworks Dc

Our mission is to dramatically improve the early career outcomes of dc youth and young adults of color by creating innovative programs and by mobilizing employers, educators, and city leaders to create a local, diverse talent pipeline. our…

Education
9
Detroit Economic Growth Corporation

Promotion of activities to spur economic growth and revitalization in the city of detroit

—
10
Newark Alliance Inc

To work in partnership to make newark a better, safer place to work, live, learn, play, and do business.

Philanthropy
11
Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision

Southwest detroit environmental vision's mission is to work in coalition with residents, community organizations, schools and other community institutions, business and industry, and municipal agencies to improve the quality of life and…

Environment
12
Urban League of Detroit and Southeastern Michigan

To enable african americans and people in need to reach their full human potential

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Keep Growing Detroit; the most unlike its peers is The Midnight Golf Program. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

12 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
12/12
Grantees still filing
8/12
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Bailey Park Project: $665,000 · Recreation & SportsBailey Park ProjectWARRENCONNER DEVELOPMENT COALITION: $293,508 · Community ImprovementWARRENCONNER DEVELO…KEEP GROWING DETROIT: $20,000 · Community ImprovementKEEP GROWING DETROI…+1 more: $10,000 · Community ImprovementDeveloping Kingdoms in Different Stages: $264,742 · Youth DevelopmentDeveloping Kingdom…THE MIDNIGHT GOLF PROGRAM: $35,000 · Youth DevelopmentTHE MIDNIGHT GOLF …LIFE REMODELED: $100,000 · Housing & ShelterLIFE REMODEL…CINNAIRE LENDING CORPORATION: $100,000 · Housing & ShelterCINNAIRE LEN…DETROIT FOOD & ENTREPRENEURSHIP ACADEMY: $195,000 · EducationDETROIT FOO…NW GOLDBERG CARES INC: $125,000 · Arts & CultureTHE FENN SCHOOL: $30,000 · OtherSTREET DEMOCRACY: $10,000 · Civil Rights
Recreation & Sports$665,000Community Improvement$323,508Youth Development$299,742Housing & Shelter$200,000Education$195,000Arts & Culture$125,000Other$30,000Civil Rights$10,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetBailey Park Project: $665,000 over 5y, 38% of budgetWARRENCONNER DEVELOPMENT COALITION: $293,508 over 2y, 9.1% of budgetDeveloping Kingdoms in Different Stages: $264,742 over 3y, 3.2% of budgetDETROIT FOOD & ENTREPRENEURSHIP ACADEMY: $195,000 over 5y, 4.6% of budgetNW GOLDBERG CARES INC: $125,000 over 2y, 8.5% of budgetLIFE REMODELED: $100,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetCINNAIRE LENDING CORPORATION: $100,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetTHE MIDNIGHT GOLF PROGRAM: $35,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetTHE FENN SCHOOL: $30,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetKEEP GROWING DETROIT: $20,000 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetDOING DEVELOPMENT DIFFERENTLY IN METRO DETROIT (D4) COALITION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 4.4% of budgetSTREET DEMOCRACY: $10,000 over 1y, 7.5% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

United Way for Southe…Community Foundation …The Skillman Foundati…The Ralph C Wilson Jr…McGregor FundWK Kellogg FoundationThe Ford FoundationThe Kresge FoundationCharities Aid Foundat…Fidelity Investments …Donor Advised Charita…Amazonsmile Foundation
United Way for Southeastern MichiganMI21.8× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: United Way for Southeastern Michigan · Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan · The Skillman Foundation · The Ralph C Wilson Jr Foundation · McGregor Fund · WK Kellogg Foundation · The Ford Foundation · The Kresge Foundation · Charities Aid Foundation America · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Amazonsmile Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Alternative Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Alternative Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24
no gov · 10%3%10%23%40%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    typical government reliance, FY20–24
    How this is measured
    Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Alternative Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Alternative Foundation through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

    Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 12 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

    How this is measured
    Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

    Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Alternative’s filings →

    More from the funding graph

    The unnamed billions
    grants reported with no recipient in the public record
    The regranting layer
    51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
    The DAF merry-go-round
    $9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
    The endowment market
    who holds foundation money, and what just moved
    The camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
    where grant money is based, and what stays home